by Jim Fitterling, Dow Chairman and CEO
SOURCE: DOW
SUMMARY:
This is the first time we have combined all our ESG priorities into one holistic, comprehensive, and transparent report.
DESCRIPTION:
I’m pleased to announce that Dow’s 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance report “INtersections” is now available. It’s best viewed in our interactive digital format, but is also available for download.
I hope you’ll take a look. This is the first time we have combined all our ESG priorities into one holistic, comprehensive, and transparent report … and it includes some wonderful stories about our continuing progress.
We’ve designed this report to help all our stakeholders better understand not only what Dow’s goals are, but also how we’re advancing toward those goals and – importantly – how we’re holding ourselves accountable for results. And in that way, it also serves to remind everyone that Dow operates with a fundamental belief that we simply cannot thrive as a business if our colleagues, our communities, and our planet do not thrive as well.
Dow’s purpose is to deliver a sustainable future for the world through our materials science expertise and collaboration with our partners. This report showcases how our ESG strategy – even during a global pandemic – continues to drive us toward that goal.
One theme you’ll see is how we are accelerating our actions to protect the planet by integrating sustainability across our businesses. We are operating with the conviction that what is good for society and the environment will also be good for our business. That’s why we introduced new and ambitious targets last year to reduce our net annual carbon emissions by five million metric tons versus its 2019 baseline, be carbon neutral by 2050, and help eliminate plastic waste. Along with the progress toward our own 2025 Sustainability Goals, these advancements are designed to leverage our science expertise and help the world transition to a more sustainable economy and society.
This report also details the progress we’re making on our commitments to help our many stakeholder groups move forward. We marshalled our resources – and collective will – to bolster social justice and racial equity throughout our communities last year. Through Dow ACTs, we launched a holistic framework and commitment for improving Advocacy, Community engagement, and our own Talent pipeline. We also introduced new inclusive hiring standards to drive equal access and opportunity for all. We leveraged our ten Employee Resource Groups to drive greater engagement … and we achieved the highest ever employee satisfaction despite 2020’s many challenges.
From a governance standpoint, I want to point out that we’ve expanded our reporting on Board governance as well as stakeholder engagement to demonstrate how we are holding ourselves to best-in-class governance practices. You’ll see, for instance, that we’ve further enhanced the diversity and experience of our Board with the addition of new members. And you can read about the success we’ve had diversifying our senior leadership. One highlight I’m particularly proud of is that Dow’s senior leadership has the highest percentage of U.S. ethnic minority representation and second highest percentage of women leaders compared to industry peers. In addition, our Board has the highest percentage of U.S. ethnic minority representation among industry peers. This diversity is crucial for our continued success; it will help us be a better and more responsive company by elevating our decision-making while also helping us attract and retain top-caliber talent.
Since the report is necessarily a ‘look back’ at our progress through 2020, it doesn’t capture our latest advancements. But you can read more about our latest accomplishment here and see how Dow is continuing to move forward – and accelerating our actions across a broad spectrum – to fulfill our ambition to become the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world.
Finally, I invite you – as one of Dow’s critical stakeholders – to engage with us as a partner and collaborator. The complex environmental, economic and social challenges our world faces cannot be solved by one company, one industry, or even one country.
Together, however, we will make a difference.
KEYWORDS: NYSE:DOW, Dow, ESG, INtersections
